Combination washer-dryer construction



Sept. 22, 1959 J. BOCHAN COMBINATION WASHER-DRYER CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26, 1957 INVENTOR. JOHN BOCHAN BY w w H IS ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1.959 J. BOCHAN 2,904,982

COMBINATION WASHER-DRYER CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 26, 1957 a Sheets-Sheet 2 F' I G. 2'

l fi L 9 INVENTOR. J'OHN BOCHAN MWAH H IS ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1959 J. BOCHAN 2,904,932

COMBINATION WASHER-DRYER CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 26, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. soy-m .BOCHAN HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent COMBINATION WASHER-DRYER CONSTRUCTION John Bochan, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 26, 1957, Serial No. 705,418

2 Claims. (CI. 68-19) This invention relates to combination washers and dryers which provide a drying cycle after a Washing cycle which includes centrifugal extraction of the clothes, and more particularly it relates to an arrangement for inhibiting sticking of clothes to the inner surface of the basket of the machine after the termination of the cen trifugal extraction phase of the operation.

Combination washer-dryers perform the combined functions of washing machines and drying machines, i.e., the same machine washes the clothes and then dries them completely. The Washing portion of the sequence which is provided is in general approximately the same as that of standard washing machines in that it includes a washing cycle, at least one rinse cycle to get rid of the washing liquid completely, and another centrifuging or spin operation to get most of the liquid out of the clothes. These operations are immediately followed by the drying operation which consists of providing heat to vaporize moisture from the clothes as they are tumbled in the clothes receptacle. One problem which has presented itself in such machines is the tendency of the clothes in the rotating basket to adhere to the Walls of the basket after the last centrifuging operation if that operation is conducted at a sufficiently high speed to remove a sub-- stantial proportion of the liquid in the clothes. This occurs to the extent that, if no corrective measures are taken, the clothes remain in a tight annulus, adhering to the inner basket surface during heat drying.

With some machines, an attempt to solve the problem has been made by keeping the centrifuging speed under the sticking speed; this, of course, leaves more liquid remaining in the clothes than if a higher speed were permissible. Other machines have provided other solutions such as movable means in the clothes basket for mechanically removing the clothes from engagement with the basket wall, and such as compound spin cycles where the unsticking effect is provided by predetermined variations in the centrifuging speed of rotation of the basket. In any event, all combination machines have to meet the problem in some manner or other: the clothes cannot be permitted to remain stuck to the periphery of the receptacle after the last spin of the washing portion of the operation since otherwise they would not present enough surface to the heat for drying to be effected as desired.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide new and improved anti-sticking means for use in a combination washer-dryer machine which requires neither movable parts within the basket nor the use of compound speed spin cycles yet which will permit higher speeds to be attained without sticking than have previously been possible where neither mechanical nor speed sequence arrangement was provided.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved clothes receptacle formed to prevent sticking of clothes thereto after a centrifuging operation.

It is known that adherence results as water is forced outwardly through the clothes during the centrifuging operation; the fabric of the clothes and the material of the basket are brought into intimate contact as the water leaves and therefore remain stuck to each other at the end of the spin operation to the extent that the force of gravity is not sufficient to cause the clothes to fall away. The more water that is removed in a single spin operation in this manner, the more intimate is the contact provided and the worse is the sticking problem. It has further been ascertained by experimentation that regardless of the amount of water removed from the fabric as a whole, sticking is inhibited if a liberal amount of water is retained at the surface Where the fabric joins the receptacle. In pursuance of these experimentally established facts, I carry out my invention by providing in a standard washer-dryer machine a basket construction which will permit the centrifuging operation to re move most of the liquid from the fabric but which will retain, at the surface of the fabric which contacts the basket, enough liquid to insure a substantial amount of wetting of that surface. As a result, although most of the fabric has had the liquid removed therefrom, the one critical place, i.e., the surface of contact between the fabric and the basket, is still quite wet. I achieve this in my preferred embodiment by providing in the usual manner in a laundry machine a clothes receptacle which is rotatable on a non-vertical axis, means for rotating the receptacle at a clothes tumbling speed, means for introducing liquid into the receptacle to treat the clothes while they are being tumbled, and means for.

thereafter rotating the receptacle at a relatively high centrifuging speed to extract liquid from the clothes. These are standard parts of commercially available machines of this type.

However, the receptacle that I provide for my clothes, while preferably substantially cylindrical in the usual manner, in accordance 'with this invention differs from previously used constructions: spaced openings are provided over the entire area of its cylindrical wall as usual;

between these spaced openings, shallow indentations are provided which take up a substantial part of the space between the openings. During the centrifuging action, the greater part of the liquid in the clothes will be forced outwardly through the openings. However, a small quantity of liquid will be retained in the indentations, and will serve to wet that part of the surface which it forms and immediately around it. In this way, while the major part of the liquid is removed as usual, there is enough retained at the critical surface to permit the centrifuging to be provided at a substantially higher speed than was previously possible.

It has further been found, as will be set forth in detail below, that the total amount of liquid retained in the indentations is negligible compared to the added amount of water which can be removed as a result of the higher centrifuging speed.

The subject matter which constitutes the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a. combinatio washendryer;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of a combination washer-dryer with the rear panel removed to illustrate details;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the machine, partly in section and with certain surfaces broken away to show details;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion machine; and

Fig. is a view along line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Referring now to the figures of the drawing, there is shown a combination washer-dryer machine where the operating elements of the machine are included within an outer cabinet structure which has a wrap-around central section 1; Central section 1 is supported on a base and toeboard assembly 2 and carriesa separate top 3 provided with an integral backsplash panel 4. Access to the interior of the machine is provided by a door 5 mounted on concealed hinges and opened by means of a knee operated latch control 6.

The machine is so constructed that when a load of soiled clothes is placed therein it proceeds through a sequence of operations, first washing the clothes and then drying them. In order to provide complete flexibility of operation of the machine, a number of operator controls may be included therein, these controls being mounted on the backsplash panel 4. The controls may include, for example, a plurality of pushbuttons consisting of an o button 7, hot and warm water buttons 8 and 9, a dryer control, or omit-dry button 10, and a water heater button 11. A rotatable. control knob 12 is provided for convenience of operator selection of any separate sequence of operations, and a second control knob 13 is included for operator selection of operating temperatures for the drying portion of the cycle of operation.

As shown in Fig. 3,'the machine is of the horizontal axis type, that is, it has a clothes basket or receptacle 14 mounted for rotation on a generally horizontal axis Within an outer enclosing tub structure 15.- Basket 14 comprises a cylindrical shell or wall 16 which is closed at its rear end by means of a suitable Wall or plate 17. The basket also includes a front Wall 18 which is formed so as to define an access or loading opening to the basket. The basket is rotatably supported by a shaft 19 which is mounted in an elongated bearing 20 supported from rear wall 21 of the tub. The tub is provided with an open ing 22 in the front Wall thereof which is aligned with the access opening to the basket so that clothes may be placed into and removed from the basket. Door 5 seals against a suitable gasket 22a to close this opening during operation of the machine.

During the operation of the machine, the basket 14 is driven from an electric motor 23 through a drive including a pair of flexible belts 24 and 25 (see Fig. 2). Belt 24 connects the output pulley (not shown) of motor 23 to the input pulley (not shown) of a transmission assembly 28. Belt 25 connects the output pulley 29 of transmission assembly 28 to a basket drive pulley 30 mounted on shaft 19 of basket 14. Transmission assembly 28 is of the multiple speed type, that is, the ratio thereof can be changed so that the basket is driven at two different speeds. The transmission assembly thus provides one basket speed for clothes tumbling and another basket speed for centrifugal extraction or spin. The ratio of the transmission assembly is changed by means of a suitable spring biased solenoid actuated plunger 31. In one position of the solenoid plunger the transmission ratio is such that the basket is driven at a suitable speed for washing and tumbling the clothes, for example, 44 revolutions per minute. In the other position of the plunger the ratio of transmission is changed so that the basket is driven at a suitable speed for centrifugal extraction, for example, 207 revolutions per minute. During the operation of the machine the basket 14 is continuously rotated by means of this drive.

To heat the clothes during the drying portion of the cycle, and also to warm the wash water during the washing portion of a cycle when desired, there is provided in the machine a heater assembly including two gears 32 and 33. These heaters are mounted within the upper portion of tub 15 so that when energized they heat the basket 14. The heating elements are preferably of the sheathed type in which a resistance wire is maintained 4 in spaced relation with an outer sheath by a highly compressed granulated heat conducting electrically insulating compound such as magnesium oxide. Such heating elements are sold under the trademark Calrod and are available commercially. When the heaters are energized during the washing cycle they heat the water by first heating the basket. Then as the basket dips into the wash Water at the bottom of the tub it in turn heats the water. In other words, the rotating basket selves as an effective heat transfer means between the heating ele ment and the water or other washing liquid. When the heaters are energized during the drying cycle, the heat transferred to the clothes basket is then passed on to the clothes to cause vapor migration out of the clothes. Since the outer cylindrical wall of the basket is perforated by a great many small spaced openings 34 (symmetrically spaced in the illustrated embodiment), as will be further discussed below, some of the heat from the heating elements passes directly to the clothes by'radiation.

In order that the machine will not be damaged by the heat produced by heaters 32 and 33, it is necessary that the basket 14 be rotating whenever they are energized. If either of belts 24 and 25 fail, the basket 14 stops rotating since it is then no longer connected to the motor 23. Therefore safety means are provided in the machine whereby the heaters 32 and 33 are de-energized whenever either of the belts fail. The safety means comprise a belt switch 35 which is arranged on a pivotally mounted sled 36 which supports transmission assembly 28. Upon the failure of either of the belts the sled 36 is moved by spring biasing means attached thereto and this movement results in the operation of switch 35 to open the heater circuit. The arrangement of sled 36 and switch 35 is fully described and claimed in Patent No. 2,750,782, issued to Daniel L. Duhamell, Jr., and assigned to the General Electric Company, the owner of the present invention.

charged from tub 15 during operation of the machine is particularly shown in Fig. 2. The water supply means includes connections 37 and 38 through which hot and cold water is supplied to the machine for the washing operation. A valve controlled by a solenoid 3.9 admits hot water to the machine and a valve controlled by an opposed solenoid 40 admits cold water to the machine. The hot and cold water valves under the control of the solenoids 39 and 4G discharge through a common outlet conduit 41, through a suitable air gap, and into a funnel 42 which discharges into a line 43 leading to the interior of tub 15 through a suitable connection 43a (see Fig. 3). The break, or the air gap, provided by the funnel 42 makes it impossible for water to be siphoned from the machine and to contaminate the incoming water supply line. In the illustrated machine, a pressure actuated sensing device, or water level control 44, controls both solenoids 39 and 40 to maintain the proper water level in the machine during the Washing operation. This sensing device is connected to the interior of tub 15 by a suitable line 45.

The illustrated machine is of the type which uses cold water during the drying cycle for condensingthe moisture extracted from the clothes. This condenser water is. admitted to the machine through an additional solenoid actuated valve controlled by a solenoid 46 (Fig. 2

Solenoid 46 is energized during the drying operation so that the valve passes water at a slow rate suliicient to con-. dense from the air the moisture vaporized from the clothes. As shown, the condenser water valve discharges into funnel 42 through a separate conduit 47, with an air gap between conduit '47 and the funnel preventing supply line contamination as before. From the funnel, the con.- denser water flows through line 43 and connection. 43a into the tub. The. condenser water flowing slowly into the tub is spread over the side of the tub by an inverted \I-shaped bead 48 (Fig. 3) formed on the tub wall directly below the connection 43a. The condenser water being so spread out cools a substantial portion of the area of the side wall whereby there is provided a large cool surface for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes.

The wash and rinse water used during the washing portion of the operation and the condenser water and the moisture extracted from the clothes during the drying operation are discharged from the machine through a sump 49 mounted at the bottom of the tub. A suitable discharge hose 50 leads from the sump to a motor driven drain pump 51 which discharges to the household drain. The flow through the discharge line may, however, be controlled by any suitable means as for example by a solenoid actuated drain valve.

With the apparatus shown, any suitable sequence derived from the basic sequence of washing, rinsing and spinning, may be utilized to effect the washing portion of the cycle and is followed by tumbling of basket 14 with suitable heating of the clothes being provided by heating elements 32 and 33. In order to make the clothes as dry as possible for the drying operation it is necessary that the last operation of the wash portion of the cycle, i.e., the spin, at a relatively high centrifuging speed to extract as much moisture as possible from the clothes.

One such suitable washing cycle in a machine of the same general type is completely described in co-pending patent application S.N. 584,658, filed May 14, 1956, by John W. Toma and John B. Ryan, now Patent No. 2,819,540, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. However, it will be understood that other control arrangements are possible, and that other deviations from the basic sequence of wash, rinse and spin may be followed. The important point is that it is necessary to terminate the wash portion of the operation with the spin to make the clothes as dry as possible, and that this spin should be at a relatively high speed since the higher the spin speed the greater will be the amount of liquid extracted from the clothes prior to the heat drying operation.

In order to permit a relatively high spin speed without the attendant difiiculty of the clothes sticking to walls 16 of the machine after the speed drops back to tumble, the following arrangement is provided in accordance with this invention. Between the relatively close and equally spaced small openings 34 of the illustrated embodiment through which the liquid is permitted to enter and through which it is driven out during centrifugal extraction, I provide suitable indentations, concave relative to the inside of the basket, such as those shown at 52 in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. As illustrated, each of the indentations may be equispaced in the same manner as the openings 34 and has a volume large enough to fill a substantial amount of the space between adjoining openings 34. Thus, in the present illustrated example, openings 34 are 4 inch in diameter, and aligned openings which are separated from each other by the indentations 52 are 6 inch apart. Each indentation is inch in diameter. The indentations are of a suitable depth so that during the centrifugal extraction liquid will be thrown into them by centrifugal action and will be retained by the indented shape. It has been found that in a basket 26 inches in diameter having its cylindrical wall formed with openings 34 and indentations 52 in the above-described manner, 4 pound of water as a total amount is retained by the indentations. However, this amount of water in its entirety is at the surface where the fabric presses against the basket during rotation. In accordance with the above stated discovery that adequate wetting at this surface inhibits sticking, the fact that a substantial amount of liquid is retained to wet the fabric over the indentation and in the immediate vicinity thereof causes substantially less of a tendency for the clothes to stick to the basket as a result of the centrifugal extraction.

It has been found, for instance, as a matter of experimentation, that the provision of openings and indentations of the above-described dimensions permits the speed of centrifuging to be raised from about 207 to about 240 rpm. before sticking starts to occur. This higher speed of rotation, for a 3.7 pound load of diapers (selected for experimental purposes because of their substantial tendency to stick), permits removal of 2.07 pounds more liquid from the clothes. Against this, there is only the quarter-pound total which is held within the indentations which must be substracted to find the net gain in effectiveness.

It will thus be seen that this invention provides a novel and economical method of inhibiting sticking of clothes to the surface of a clothes container during centrifuging thereof.

While in accordance with the Patent Statutes I have described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and I therefore aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a laundry machine, a clothes receptacle rotatable on a non-vertical axis, means for rotating said receptacle at clothes tumbling speed, means for introducing liquid into said receptacle for treating said clothes While they are being tumbled, and means for thereafter rotating said receptacle at a relatively high centrifuging speed to extract liquid from said clothes, said first mentioned rotating means thereafter again rotating said receptacle at clothes tumbling speed, heating means arranged in cooperative relation with said receptacle thereby to heat the clothes within the receptacle during said second clothes tumbling speed rotation, said receptacle being substantially cylindrical and having its cylindrical wall formed over the entire surface thereof with a plurality of relatively small symmetrically spaced openings, said wall further having an equal number of small shallow indentations concave relative to the interior of said receptacle each of which fills a substantial part of the space between two of said openings thereby to retain a predetermined quantity of liquid in contact with the clothes throughout the centrifuging action.

2. In a laundry machine, a clothes receptacle rotatable on a non-vertical axis, means for rotating said receptacle at clothes tumbling speed, means for introducing liquid into said receptacle for treating said clothes while they are being tumbled, and means for thereafter rotating said receptacle at a relatively high centrifuging speed to extract liquid from the clothes, said first mentioned rotating means thereafter again rotating said receptacle at clothes tumbling speed, heating means arranged in cooperative relation with said receptacle thereby to heat the clothes within the receptacle during said second clothes tumbling speed rotation, said receptacle being substantially cylindrical and having its cylindrical wall formed with many relatively small slightly spaced openings over substantially the entire area of said wall, said wall further having many small shallow indentations concave relative to the interior of said receptacle filling a substantial part of the space between said openings thereby to retain a predetermined quantity of liquid in contact with the clothes throughout the centrifuging speed rotation of said receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,505,881 Fisher Aug. 19, 1924 2,214,131 Haberstump Sept. 10, 1940 2,824,385 Toma Feb. 25, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 66,258 Norway May 24, 1943 

